RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 XT — Which GPU Is Right for Your Build?

The RTX 5070 and RX 9070 XT are the two most talked-about mid-range to upper-mid GPUs in 2026 — and they target almost the same buyer. This guide compares every aspect so you can make a confident decision for your next custom gaming PC build in the UK.

Updated August 2026 with current UK prices. RTX 5070 builds start from £1,502 and RX 9070 XT builds from £1,507. Compare both ranges →

Price and Availability in the UK

Checked against UK retail stock in August 2026, both cards are widely available:

• NVIDIA RTX 5070: roughly £600–£720 for AIB cards (Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Zotac variants), with premium models above that
• AMD RX 9070 XT: roughly £680–£790 for AIB cards (Sapphire, PowerColor, Asus, XFX variants), again with pricier flagship editions

This has flipped since earlier in the generation. The RTX 5070 is now typically the cheaper of the two at card level, and our own build pricing reflects the same ordering. Street prices move week to week, so treat these as a snapshot rather than a fixed figure — the performance comparison below is the part that stays true.

Raw Gaming Performance — 1080p

At 1080p, both cards are so fast that the limiting factor is almost always the CPU. Frame rates in competitive titles like CS2 and Valorant can exceed 400fps on both cards with a fast CPU. At 1080p, the GPU difference is irrelevant — spend less on GPU and more on CPU and RAM at this resolution.

Raw Gaming Performance — 1440p (The Real Battleground)

1440p is where these cards are designed to shine. In demanding titles at Ultra settings:

• Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p Ultra, no RT): RTX 5070 ~115fps avg, RX 9070 XT ~105fps avg
• Alan Wake 2 (1440p Ultra, no RT): RTX 5070 ~100fps, RX 9070 XT ~88fps
• Forza Horizon 5 (1440p Ultra): RTX 5070 ~195fps, RX 9070 XT ~180fps
• Call of Duty Warzone (1440p Ultra): RTX 5070 ~200fps, RX 9070 XT ~185fps
• Baldur's Gate 3 (1440p Ultra): Both exceed 100fps — GPU-limited equally

The RTX 5070 leads by roughly 8–12% at 1440p in rasterisation performance. Both deliver an excellent experience — the question is whether that margin justifies the price difference.

4K Performance

Both cards are capable at 4K, but this is where their upscaling solutions become critical:

• RTX 5070 (with DLSS 4 Quality mode): Excellent 4K experience. DLSS 4 Quality produces near-native quality with a significant performance boost — comfortable 70–90fps in demanding titles.
• RX 9070 XT (with FSR 3.1 Quality mode): FSR 3.1 Quality is good but visibly slightly softer than DLSS 4. Performance similar to DLSS 4 Performance mode. Still a smooth 4K experience in most games.

For native 4K without upscaling, neither card is ideal — that's RTX 5080/5090 territory. But with upscaling enabled, both deliver good results.

Ray Tracing

NVIDIA has a significant RT hardware advantage, and this is one area where the RTX 5070 clearly wins:

• In games with ray tracing enabled (Cyberpunk 2077, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition), the RTX 5070 is typically 30–40% faster than the RX 9070 XT
• For path-traced games, the gap is even larger — the RX 9070 XT struggles to maintain smooth frame rates with full path tracing at 1440p

If ray tracing is important to you and you regularly play RT-enabled titles, the RTX 5070 is the better choice.

DLSS 4 vs FSR 3.1

Both cards support Frame Generation (FG) — a technology that uses AI or compute to generate additional frames between rendered frames, boosting perceived frame rates significantly:

• NVIDIA DLSS 4 (Transformer model): Uses dedicated tensor cores. Image quality is class-leading. DLSS 4 at Quality mode is nearly indistinguishable from native resolution. Multi Frame Generation can multiply frame rates by 2–4x in supported titles.
• AMD FSR 3.1: Open-source, works on any GPU including NVIDIA. Spatial upscaling quality is good but slightly behind DLSS 4 at equivalent quality settings. Frame Generation is GPU-compute-based — works well but introduces slightly more latency than DLSS 4 FG.

VRAM — Does 12GB vs 16GB Matter?

The RTX 5070 features 12GB of GDDR7 VRAM. The RX 9070 XT has 16GB of GDDR6.

In 2026, 12GB is sufficient for the vast majority of 1440p gaming. However, a growing number of titles — particularly open-world games with high-resolution texture packs — push past 12GB at 4K Ultra. If you plan to game at 4K with maximum settings and texture mods, the RX 9070 XT's 16GB is a meaningful advantage. At 1440p, 12GB remains fine for the foreseeable future.

Power Efficiency

• RTX 5070 TDP: ~250W — comfortable in an 850W system
• RX 9070 XT TDP: ~220W — also fine in an 850W system

Both cards are efficient enough for standard builds. No PSU upgrade required for either at typical system configurations.

Which GPU Is Right for You?

Choose the RTX 5070 if you play ray-traced games regularly, value DLSS 4 image quality, or want NVIDIA’s ecosystem including NVENC for streaming. Choose the RX 9070 XT if you want more video memory for the money and play mostly rasterised titles at 1440p, where its raw performance is the stronger buy.

• Choose RTX 5070 if: You regularly play ray-traced games, you value DLSS 4 image quality, you want NVIDIA's ecosystem (NVENC for streaming, DLSS in more titles), or you game at 4K where the extra RT performance helps.
• Choose RX 9070 XT if: You primarily game at 1440p in rasterisation titles, budget efficiency matters, you want more VRAM headroom for future games, or you prefer AMD's open ecosystem with FSR working across all hardware.

Build the Perfect PC with Either GPU

Both the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 XT are available in our custom gaming PC range. Every build is assembled to order in the UK with DDR5 RAM, a fast NVMe SSD, Windows 11, and a full 3-year warranty — with free tracked next-day delivery included as standard.

Browse RTX 5070 custom gaming PCs →   Browse RX 9070 XT custom gaming PCs →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the RTX 5070 better than the RX 9070 XT?

The RTX 5070 is faster by 8-12% at 1440p in rasterisation, has significantly better ray tracing performance, and benefits from DLSS 4 upscaling. The RX 9070 XT offers better price-to-performance, 16GB VRAM vs 12GB, and lower power draw. The best choice depends on your priorities.

Which GPU is better for 1440p gaming in 2026?

Both the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 XT deliver excellent 1440p gaming. The RTX 5070 leads by around 10% in raw performance, but the RX 9070 XT offers strong value at a lower price point. Either card handles 1440p ultra settings comfortably.

Does DLSS 4 make the RTX 5070 worth the extra cost?

For gamers who regularly use upscaling and care about image quality, DLSS 4 is noticeably superior to FSR 3.1. If you game in ray-traced titles, the RTX 5070's advantage is even more pronounced. For pure rasterisation gaming at 1440p, the gap is smaller and the RX 9070 XT offers better value.

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